Officials from both Amtrak and two railroads and the Alabama State Docks got heated during a hearing Wednesday in front of the federal Surface Transportation Board.
Amtrak wants to bring a twice-daily passenger rail service between Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, but the effort is opposed by freight railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern and the Alabama State Docks.
Those three parties have told the Surface Transportation Board — which regulates freight railroads nationally and solves disputes — that passenger rail would adversely affect their freight operations and that Amtrak torpedoed a feasibility study last year that might’ve cast doubt on the project.
Wednesday’s hearings concluded two days of testimony and the Surface Transportation Board will decide the matter in a two-day hearing starting on March 9.
The battle over restoration of passenger rail to the Gulf Coast could have national implications, with Amtrak planning to add 39 new routes that will use trackage owned by freight railroads.
CSX president and CEO Jim Foote says the ramifications could be serious for freight rail if the Surface Transportation Board rules in Amtrak’s favor. He also said Amtrak didn’t negotiate with the two railroads over the route and that it would be more “politically advantageous” for them to request a decision from the Surface Transportation Board.
“This case is far more than...New Orleans to Mobile,” Foote said. “It’s about a new national agenda and Amtrak’s desire to change the law and create a new road map to impose passenger service without working with the host carriers or local communities to first add capacity.”
Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner told the board that the question is whether the freight railroads — which are required by law to allow Amtrak to use their trackage for routes — will continue to help us serve the traveling public and allow expansion of the nation’s passenger rail system as directed by President Joe Biden’s administration and Congress.
Surface Transportation Board chairman Martin Oberman asked Foote why CSX didn’t spend more than $30 billion for stock buybacks and dividends to improve its infrastructure along the route and whether the railroad was trying to get taxpayer funds for infrastructure improvements.
He also asked Foote if the railroad if had addressed shortening the length of its freight trains on the route to better utilize the smaller sidings (there are only three passing tracks on the 144-mile route that are more than 10,000 feet long).
Amtrak also disputes the cost estimate ($400 million to $450 million) for infrastructure upgrades (such as new and upgraded sidings) that CSX says is required to ensure that passenger trains don’t' cause delays for freight trains. Gardner said Amtrak stands ready to make improvements to the route’s infrastructure.
Alabama leaders continue to oppose the Gulf Coast rail project.
A letter sent by the Republican members of Alabama’s congressional delegation on Tuesday urges the Surface Transportation Board to ensure that Amtrak uses $66 million in infrastructure funding to ensure that passenger rail service doesn’t interfere with CSX’s freight service.
The letter was signed by U.S. senators Richard Shelby and Tommy Tuberville, along with U.S. representatives Robert Aderhold, Mike Rogers, Mo Brooks, Teri Sewell, Gary Palmer, Jerry Carl and Barry Moore. All are Republicans.
While state officials in both Louisiana and Mississippi have allocated funds for the restoration of passenger rail service, Alabama has balked at providing funds until that feasibility study is completed.
The letter says that the Surface Transportation Board could be making a historic and precedent-setting decision in the dispute.
The letter also says if the board was to order CSX to allow Amtrak to use its 200-plus miles of trackage between Mobile and New Orleans, it could cause a 20 percent increase in delays and cause future delays without additional freight capacity being added to the single-track line. This was according to a rail traffic controller model study initiated by CSX and Norfolk Southern.
The letter also reiterated a case made by Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon in Tuesday’s hearing that forcing CSX to accept passenger rail on its route could worsen supply chain woes that have manifested after the global shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the letter, the port of Mobile’s container volume has increased 120 percent since 2015.
Amtrak plans to add 39 additional routes and the letter says that a bad precedent in this case could jeopardize the embattled supply chain even further as more routes are added without complete understanding by officials of the potential effects on freight rail.
